Bowling bag



Sept. 18, 1962 H. 1.1-: GOFF BOWLING BAG 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26,1960 .Lom ocn H. Le $05 INVENTOR.

BY 11/ M HTTOR/YQ Sept. 18, 1962 H. LE GOFF BOWLING BAG Filed May 26,1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 oman H. La G ff INVENTOR.

Sept. 18, 1962 L. H. LE IGOFF BOWLING BAG 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 26,1960 3,054,435 BGWLKNG BAG Loman H. Le Gofi, 3 Maple Ave, Lawrenceville,NJ. Filed May 25, 1969, Ser. No. 31,959 3 Claims. (Cl. 159-52) Thisinvention relates to bowling bags of the general type having a lowercompartment for containing a bowling ball and an upper compartment forcontaining a pair of bowling shoes, for example, as illustrated in myPatents Nos. 2,860,681 and 2,922,453.

Such bags have heretofore been formed in a single unit having a fixedpartition dividing the bag into the two compartments, the partitionconstituting a support for the shoes and also means for imposingpressure on the top of the ball for holding it in a central seat in thebottom of the bag. In such bags one side of the lower compartment isprovided with an opening to permit the insertion into and the removal ofthe ball from the bag and with a closure for the opening having slidefastening means at its edges. The top of the shoe compartment in such abag is provided with an elongated slitted opening for permitting theinsertion into and the removal of bowling shoes from the compartment,the edges of that opening also having slide fastening means.

The bowling bags referred to are made of flexible material and havecertain disadvantages, among them being that it is difficult to insertand remove the shoes through the slitted opening and to insert andremove the ball through the frontal opening; also under usage, roughhandling in transit and exposure, the walls of the bag become distortedto such a degree as to render it difficult to manipulate the slideclosure fastening devices of the two compartments. Another disadvantageof such bags resides in the difficulty of removing dirt from thecompartments and keeping them clean inside.

Therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention is toprovide a bowling bag of the same general shape and function as the bagsdisclosed in my patents referred to, but in which the bowling ball andshoe receptacles are formed separately and hingedly connected togetheralong adjacent edges at the open ends of the compartments. Suchreceptacles having stilf but resilient Walls may be formed of plasticmaterial by molding or other economical fabricating means, and providedat their edges opposite the hinged edges with snap or other quickengaging and releasing fastening means.

With the above mentioned improved construction the ball and the shoescan be lifted from the receptacles without obstruction immediately uponopening them. Dirt in the receptacles can be emptied therefrom by merelyturning them upside down. Also the inner walls can easily be scrubbed atany time to keep them in a clean condition. The shoes may be held intheir compartment above the ball by means of a transversely extendingflexible strip, a plurality of such strips or a flat board ofsubstantially the same shape and area as the opening in the shoereceptacle hingedly connected at one edge to the wall of the compartmentand having snap or other fastening means for quick engagement andrelease from the opposite wall of the compartment. The strips, or theboard, are fastened across the shoes which may be inserted into thereceptacle with their soles facing either outwardly or inwardly.

When either a plurality of strips or a board is employed, cushion meansmay be attached thereto for engagement with the ball when the bag isclosed in the same manner as shown in my Patent No. 2,922,453,previously referred to, to clamp or hold the ball in its central seat.

The walls of the two receptacles are spaced apart in a manner to providea slight gripping action on the bowling ball and the shoes. The sidewalls of the ball receptacle am nes Patented Sept. 18, 1962 may beslightly convergent toward its open end to prevent the ball from fallingout if upset when in open position. The side walls of the shoereceptacle may be slightly divergent toward its open end, so that thebowling shoes maybe slightly wedged into the receptacle.

Other objects and advantages of my improved bowling bag will be apparentor pointed out in the following specification in which reference is hadto the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, and in winch FIG. 1is a perspective view of my improved bowling bag in closed position;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the bag taken on the line 22 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 3 is a detail sectional view at one side of the bag;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bag shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 inopen position with the bowling ball and shoes in their respectivereceptacles;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 2 and showingthe open position of the shoe receptacle in broken lines;

FIG. 6 is a detail sectional view showing the shoe receptacle in openposition without the shoes;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4 but with different meansfor holding the shoes in their receptacle;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the bag structure shown in FIG. 7 taken onthe line 88 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 of FIG. 8.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals designate like parts inthe several views, and referring particularly to the embodiment of myinvention illustrated in FEGS. 1 to 6, the bag designated generally bythe numeral 16 comprises a pair of cup-shaped receptacles 12 and 14for-med of stiif but resilient plastic or other suitable materialmolded, pressed or formed by other suitable means, the two receptaclesbeing assembled together with their open ends in horizontal, opposedrelation, the lowermost of the receptacles 12 being of the greater depthand of a sufiicient length and width to contain a bowling ball A thisreceptacle having a conventional type of central seat 15 for the ball onits floor. The uppermost of the receptacles 14 is of sufiicient lengthand width to contain a pair of bowling shoes B in side by side relation.The spacing of the side walls of the receptacle 12 is such as to imposea slight gripping action on opposite sides of the ball, which aids inholding it in its central seat. Also the walls are slightly convergenttoward the outer end of the receptacle to a normal width slightly lessthan the diameter of the bowling ball, which tends to prevent accidentalescape of the ball from the receptacle if upset while in open position,but will not prevent forcible Withdrawal of the ball from thereceptacle. The spacing of the side walls of the shoe receptacle 14 issuch as to impose a slight gripping action on opposite sides of thebowling shoes. Moreover the side walls are slightly divergent toward theopen end of the receptacle, so that the shoes are subjected to a slightwedging action when inserted into their receptacle.

The plane of the open ends of the two receptacles 12 and 14 whenassembled together is in approximate tangential relation with the top ofthe bowling ball A when in its receptacle. The bowling shoes B are heldin their receptacle by means of a strip 16 of fabric or other suitableflexible or elastic material, this strip being hingedly connected at 13(FIGS. 5 and 6) to one wall of the shoe receptacle and provided with asnap or other suitable fastener 20 at its opposite end for detachablysecuring it to the opposite wall of the receptacle after passing thestrip transversely across the outer surfaces of the shoes. Although theshoes are illustrated as having been inserted with their soles facingoutwardly and with the strip 16 engaging the outer surface of the solesimmediately in front of the heels, it should be understood that theshoes may be inserted in a reverse manner and that the strip may be ofsufi'icient width to engage the outer surfaces of the heels as well asother surfaces of the shoes. Also, if desired two or more strips may beemployed.

The two receptacles 12 and 14 are hingedly connected together at oneside by means of a hinge 22 and provided at the other side with snaplatches or other suitable means 24 and 24 for detachably fastening theadjacent edges together. A conventional type of handle 26 is attached tothe shoe receptacle 14 for carrying the assembled bag 10.

The form of bag shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 is the same as that shown in FIGS.1 to 6 except with specifically different means for holding the shoes Bin their receptacle 14 comprising, instead of the strip 16, a stiff butresilient board 16a of substantially the same shape and area as theopening in the shoe receptacle connected to the wall of the receptacleopposite the hinge 22 of the two receptacles by another hinge element18a of any suitable type, so that the board can be opened away from thebowling ball receptacle as shown in the broken lines in FIG. 7. At itsopposite edge the board 16a is provided with snap or other suitablefastening means ZC-a. It may also be provided with a lift strap 20b. Asshown in FIG. 7 the board 16a when fastened over the shoes B forms aclosed shoe compartment above the ball A and thus protects the ballsurface against dirt from the shoes. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 7the outer side of the board 16a may be provided with resilient cushionelements 28 for engaging the top surface of the ball on each side of thevertical center for holding the ball in its central seat 15a, in amanner similar to that shown in my Patent No. 2,922,453.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided abowling bag, or case, of the same general formation and the same utilityas previous bowling bags, but with distinct advantages over previousdesigns, some of such advantages being more economical fabrication,greater convenience of inserting into and removing the bowling ball andshoes from their respective receptacles,

. 4 greater facility of maintaining the ball and shoe receptacles orcompartments in a clean and sanitary condition, and a more attractiveunitary appearance of the bag.

Obviously, various changes or modifications may be made in my improvedbowling bag without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments of my inventionshown and described are intended to be illustrative only and restrictedonly by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a bowling bag having a lower compartment for containing a bowlingball and an upper compartment for 4 containing a pair of bowling shoesin side by side relation,

' with means for fastening the other pair of edges together;

said resilient member being hingedly connected to one of the free edgesof the upper receptacle for supporting contact with the ball and shoeswhen the two receptacles are in closed relation;

2. A bowling bag as in claim 1 in which the side walls of the lowerreceptacle are convergent toward its open end to a width normally lessthan the diameter of the bowling ball contained therein.

3.. A bowling bag as in claim 1 in which the side walls of the upperreceptacle are divergent toward its open end to aflord a wedging actionagainst the outer surfaces of a pair of bowling shoes contained therein.

References Cited in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,572,706 Eichholz et al Oct. 23, 1951 2,633,136 Nesvig Mar. 31, 19532,754,870 Glantz et al July 17, 1956 2,783,874 Brown et al. Mar. 5, 19572,860,681 Le Golf Nov. 18, 1958 2,922,453 Le Goff Jan. 26, 1960

